Tag: family

Iowa Day 2

Sara Moser2 Comments
I woke to the sound of the freight train across the street. I love the sound of trains.

I slept surprisingly well, considering I was away from home and on a couch. Travel can wear you out. I checked my phone for the time: 5:07, about normal for me. Dense fog advisory. Nice, means it is warming up a bit.
I knew I wouldn’t see Rachel for a while, as she has never really been a morning person. So, after my morning meditation, I drank some Raja’s cup while catching up on social media and writing, enjoying the sounds of the trains, of which there are many. More than I could ever imagine. At 8:20, finally satisfied with my blog post, I decided to venture out for food, as there was still no sign of activity elsewhere in the house.
Thankful for GPS, I searched for local coffee shops, chose one, and headed out. As I drove along the tree lined roads, I passed a bicycle rider, a couple of joggers, and a girl walking a dog. Everywhere I go, people are the same – they all have hopes, dreams, and struggles. The difference is the unique experience each one of us has. Anyway…
I came out of my reverie and  found myself on the campus of Iowa State University. I decided to look for another place rather than find myself at some college hangout, so pulled over and checked the GPS. This time I chose Cafe Diem, and here I sit.
It is on Main Street, and it is one of many intersting looking businesses in this restored old downtown area. I enjoyed a Belgian waffle with butter and syrup, and am sipping a cup of excellent coffee with cream and nutmeg.
Later….
When I got back to Rachel’s she was up and around and we decided that the day would be well spent down on Main Street. She’s only lived here a couple of years and hasn’t been in all the stores. After we got back to the area, we walked past several beautiful old church buildings. I love looking at old buildings, inside and out. They are generally more interesting than new ones, and better built as well.
After stopping by a local art center, we went back to Cafe Diem for lunch, and both of us enjoyed really good black bean burgers. It is a cool place, has old books, games, furniture, and old doors and windows for dividers

wpid-wp-1431781949685.jpegWe lingered there for quite some time, talking about our individual spiritual journeys. Her childhood and adolescence were spent in conservative evangelical churches, and in college she found her way to the Orthodox Church and loves it. And I, the one who raised her in the evangelical church, have found my way out of church completely, and feel closer to God than I ever did inside the building. I am very happy that we had that moment, and the best thing is that there is no judgment or trying to convince the other. We each have our own path.

The rest of the afternoon was spent browsing in a couple of great shops. Worldly Goods is a wonderful fair trade outlet, with beautiful handcrafted goods from third world native artisans. I didn’t really plan to buy anything, but sometimes things just jump out at you and you have to get them, you know?  So I bought myself a ring and a beautiful purple tunic. I love the style and purple has been calling to me lately.
Next door to that we found a unique antique store called Tangerine Zebra. That is a cool name for a store, and I do wonder where it came from. So many treasures inside! Jewelry and buttons and kitchen gadgets and toys — oh what is that up there? It is a cast iron horse-drawn fire wagon. I had to get it, to go with the cast iron horse-drawn ice truck I already have. I suppose that I have a collection now. Rachel found a pretty necklace watch, and we left there feeling quite content with our purchases.

The rest of the day we just hung out – resting, reading and what-have-you. We ate take out Thai food for dinner, and called it a night.

Travel – Iowa Day 1

Sara Moser3 Comments

I found my blog from a road trip I took in 2009 with my two youngest kids when they were 13 and 15. It was my first attempt at blogging, and I’m glad I did it because it was fun to revisit those days.

I’m taking three trips this year, and want to preserve the memories, so here goes!

Iowa, Day 1

I’m sitting in Houston Hobby Airport waiting to board. The first leg of the trip is a quick hop to Dallas and a plane change. Then on to Des Moines, get a car, and a short drive to Ames, Iowa and my beautiful daughter Rachel.

I look around at the other people waiting. I cannot find a single person who is not using their smartphone —except for that one lady who is reading on her kindle. Texting, listening to music, social media, playing games — and there are a couple of people actually talking on them. Before I took out my pen and paper to write this, I was doing the same thing! Just 20 years ago, the crowd would most likely have been reading books and newspapers. How things change.

Now I’m writing from the plane on the way from Dallas to Des Moines. The actual flight from Houston to DFW was quick, but definitely  a hurry-up-and-wait operation, as traveling by plane often is. I only had a 50 minute layover, and with all the delays I wasn’t sure I’d make it.

Delays:

1. The first flight was 10 minutes late.

2. After we landed, we were informed there was a plane in the gate we were assigned to. When we did get a gate, it took at least 10 minutes to get there.

3. I had to wait for my carry on bag. It was one of those small commuter planes, and they “valet” the bags. By the time I had the bag in hand, there were only 20 minutes left before my connecting flight was scheduled to take off.

The Dallas Fort Worth airport is like a small city, and has four terminals. I landed at gate B40, and thanks to Google, knew that I needed to get to gate A9. That was a mini road trip in itself! I and another frantic lady,  who only had 10 minutes to catch her flight took off at a sprint, following the signs to the “Skylink”. We had to go up an unnaturally tall escalator, then caught a talking train (that must have been Skylink). I lost her after that – she was on a mission. I wonder if she made her flight.

I found the signs for gates A-1 to A- 23 and broke into a jog, thankful to the inventor of the rolling suitcase. I was at A -20 and had to pee, but there was no time for creature comforts. It seemed like an eternity until way down the corridor I glimpsed A-12, A-11, A- 10, and yes! finally, A-9. It seemed like another mile but I was there!

No one else was there though, except the woman at the desk. “May I board?” I asked as she glanced up, nonchalantly. She probably deals with this every day. “I’ll call, but I think they were closing the doors.”  As my heart was sinking and she was getting no answer, guess who showed up? The PILOT! Yes! So the door was opened for me, and with great relief I was allowed to board the plane, right before the pilot. “Thank God for donuts,” he joked. I would definitely have to say Amen to that, I thought as I gratefully took my seat.

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There was a light rain falling in Des Moines when I arrived, and it was blessedly cool, around 60 degrees. This is my first trip to visit Rachel and her husband since they have lived here. I enjoyed the changing scenery as I drove out of the city, noting large freshly plowed fields. Deep in the heart of farm country, I thought as I neared my destination.

There she is! My heart sang as I saw my dear daughter come out of the house with her little green umbrella. My little girl. So happy to see her and hug her.

After getting settled inside, I told her of my traveling adventures, and we caught up with our lives. She gave me a mandala coloring book, and I gave her a book of Rumi poems. We had a marvelous dinner of bean burritos prepared by Rachel’s husband. We talked about what we might do for the next couple of days, but made no firm plans. Then we settled into a movie. We chose Practical Magic with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, and it was a great choice – funny, scary, and romantic.

And I went to sleep on the comfy couch.

May Musings

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ReflectionsAh, May. These first few days, at least here on the Gulf Coast, are when you know it’s fixing to be super steamy humid hot, so you really really enjoy that last bit of cool weather. Today is like that. I sat by the lake this morning, enjoying the 60 degree air, wondering where all the pelicans are that frequented this pier just last fall. I suppose they are busy with nesting or raising their babies, and will be back here later this year. I also love looking at the reflections on the water, and all the fish jumping.   A few ducks and gulls flew by, but that was it. The morning was quiet, disturbed only by a small motor boat in a hurry to get somewhere else. The fisherman nearby wasn’t too happy about that.

April was fairly uneventful. I dove into my studies, and am really enjoying the things I’m learning about Ayurveda. I had  a misconception that Ayurveda was eastern medicine that uses plants and food for healing. Actually, it is consciousness based, knowledge of truth and life (that’s what ayurveda means). It is the science of how nature works, and that science is universal.  It’s about really knowing what is happening in a person’s being and addressing all the layers, not just the physical. I’m loving it!

I “read” (listened to) Super Brain. Fascinating stuff, about how to use our brain as a gateway for achieving health, happiness, and spiritual growth. Gave me lots to think about, if you’ll excuse the pun!

We took another trip to Caddo Lake, near Uncertain. Here’s what I wrote about that place after our visit last July. This time, we mostly stayed in or close by the cabin, just enjoying connecting with nature. Still couldn’t get the great blue heron to pose for a picture!

Coming up for me in May – I decided last month to make a trip to Ames, Iowa, to visit my daughter. This after a mini reunion with all my Texas kids – 3 here in the Houston area, one coming in from Austin and another from Nacogdoches. I’m always very happy to spend time with my children.  The only one I won’t get to see this month is my son in Massachusetts, but I’ve got the wheels turning in my brain for a New England trip in the fall.

And today? I’m gonna spend it at home, a rare treat, it seems. I’ve got the windows open, no particular plans….I’d like to finish the painting I’ve been working on, read a bit, learn something new…Maybe just sit in the sun for a bit.

Photography 101 – Home

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The assignment – home.  ” Home is elusive. When we think about this word, we might picture different physical locations. And while home is often found on a map, it can also be less tangible: a loved one, a state of mind.”

I live in an apartment building, and I love being here. Inside is warm and welcoming and I live with a beautiful person.My grownup children I get to see sunrises and sunsets over the lake out my bedroom window, and lots of birds and other bits of nature. But home is where my heart is – and each one of my children has a piece of it.  I took this picture of my grownup kids at Thanksgiving of 2011. They are rarely all together now, and I don’t see them much either. They are each strong, unique, independent, and that was my hope for them.

My sister and I

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Daily prompt – Agree to Disagree

Immediately I thought of my sister. Ellen is two years older than me, and we love each other dearly. We’ve had many parallelisms (is that a word?) in our lives, but in so many ways we are different, and so there are a few things that we just don’t talk about.

We both married at 19, the first time, and without expecting it, we both had more than the usual amount of children – she had 5, and I, 7.  They are all grown now, but we did have our differences in raising them. I homeschooled, hers were public schooled. I was pretty bossy back then, tried to convince her to do things my way quite often. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t have been so pushy. Each of our children have become awesome unique individuals, in spite of and because of their mothers.

We both divorced our children’s fathers after long marriages – mine 23 years, hers 29. We both married again, me within months, she took a little longer.  We both divorced after much drama, difficulty, and grief, around the same time. No arguments there.

She met Todd right after her divorce, and married him a year later,.  I dated a bit before I met Robert, my boyfriend, and there is no talk of marriage at this point. We are blissfully cohabitating, something that I never would have dreamed of doing in my younger days.

The biggest things we don’t talk about, just silently agree to disagree about, are religion and politics.  She goes to church every week, and is a conservative Republican. I quit going to church two years ago (although I have strong spiritual beliefs), and although I don’t affiliate with a political party, definitely have made a strong left shift in my voting.

She lives in Arkansas, I am in Texas. She has her own business, Ellen’s Airbrush. I work in a hospital and have only just begun to pursue artistic endeavors. My sister inspires me,  but I am glad we live 400 miles apart. We have lovely short visits, and know we are there for each other.

Sara and Ellen 2014